What explains the off-handed reaction of Arab governments to the Iraqi turmoil thus far? Dina Ezzat looks for an answer Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa is expected to return to Cairo later today after a three-day Arab tour that took him to Bahrain, Syria and Qatar. During his tour he sought the support of the three Arab states for a prompt convocation of the annual Arab summit. Moussa's efforts were fairly successful. In principle, these three countries are in favour of the summit's prompt convocation. However, they still need to agree with the rest of the 22 members of Arab League as to when and where the summit will be held. According to the rules of the Arab League, Arab leaders hold an ordinary summit once year in March. The venue of the summit is either the League's headquarters in Cairo or the country slated to chair a given year's summit -- if it offers to play host, that is. This year, the summit was scheduled to take place in Tunisia, the scheduled chair of the summit for the year 2004, during the last week of March. However, on the eve of the expected arrival of Arab heads of state in Tunis, Tunisian President Zein Al-Abidine Bin Ali called off the meeting, alleging irresolvable inter-Arab differences over reform in the Arab world. The Tunisian decision was met with anger across the region. It also prompted serious questions about the future of inter-Arab relations and that of the Arab League itself. Since then, in a widely appreciated political move, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has offered to hold the summit in Egypt. Tunis, however, has insisted on retaining its right to play host when it deems it possible for the summit to meet successfully, and for its resolutions to be meaningful. Actually, Tunis is currently proposing to host a two- day summit either at the beginning or the end of the second week of May. According to satetments made by Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Al-Maashar on Tuesday, Tunis is close to handing out new summit invitations. This Tunisian stance has not been met with much warmth in the Arab world. Some countries, especially in the Maghreb, have expressed sympathy with the Tunisian wish to host the summit, either next month or on any other date Arab capitals agree on. However, feelings were different at the other end of the Arab world. Some Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia and Bahrain -- the present chair of the summit -- are still angered by the Tunisian president's unilateral decision to call off the summit without any prior consultation with any of his Arab counterparts. Some countries, including Egypt, are taking a more diplomatic approach: in favour of holding the summit in Cairo but willing to go to Tunis to ease tense Arab relations at a time of crisis in Iraq and Palestine, on the one hand, and serious foreign pressure and threats against many Arab states on the other. Nevertheless, none of the Arab countries is certain about whether Tunisia is earnest in its stated intention to host the summit. Indeed, some countries are concerned that if Tunis is given the benefit of the doubt, it might simply keep delaying the meeting's convocation. "It is a very tricky situation, whichever way one looks at it, but still we have to work around it. This is the time where the secretary-general of the Arab League has to mediate," one informed Arab League source told Al-Ahram Weekly. According to this source, Moussa has been slowly containing the anger of heads of state infuriated by the Tunisian move. The secretary-general of the Arab League, the source added, has also been quite successful in gathering support for the summit convening as soon as possible in a way that is satisfactory to all Arab countries. Last week, Moussa visited Tunis, Libya, Morocco and Mauritania. While in Morocco he met with Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. In Cairo he reviewed the situation with Mubarak. On Saturday in Cairo, he attended a meeting with the Arab League representatives to discuss the situation further. Speaking to reporters, Moussa seemed confident that Arab countries are heading towards an agreement to hold their summit in May. He also indicated that there is a growing "acceptance" of holding the summit in Tunis after all. This cautiously optimistic view is shared by some, but not all diplomatic quarters. Some diplomats, including Egyptians, say that at this point the most important thing is to hold the summit. Admitting a sense of anger at the Tunisian administration, some Arab diplomats nevertheless argue that this is not the time to settle that score, in view of the disturbing developments in Iraq and Palestine. Meanwhile, other diplomats argue that the situation is still very problematic. "Crown Prince Abdullah and the King of Bahrain are still unwilling to go to Tunis -- actually more so now than before. This will take us back to the problem of the low level of representation to the summit, to which the Tunisian decision to call off the summit was originally attributed," one Arab diplomatic source said. He added that since the Tunisian president was not willing to have the presidency of the summit handed over to him by the Bahraini foreign minister, the problem remains unsolved. There is also the problem of how far Arab states are willing to go in carrying out collective socio- economic and political reform. Tunis publicly attributed its decision to call off the summit to the failure of Arab countries to agree on concrete steps towards political and economic reform and women's emancipation. "Nothing has changed on this front either. Actually, the main objection to the language proposed by Tunis on reform came from the Saudi delegation. It is improbable that Riyadh has changed its mind over the past few weeks, or that Tunis is now willing to compromise for a lesser Arab commitment to reform after having made a big issue out of it," the anonymous source added. So while many Arab diplomats agree that on his tours of Arab capitals and talks with many leaders, and almost every Arab foreign minister, the secretary-general of the Arab League has been successful in "reducing the high level of tension that was in the air following the Tunisian shock". They also say that deep divisions remain both over the summit venue and content. Some diplomats suggest that with a bit of pressure Tunis might agree to chair the summit in Cairo. They also say that while Egypt usually prefers to host such high- level meetings in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, due to logistical concerns, in view of the current crisis Egypt might make an extra effort to arrange the summit at the League headquarters off Cairo's Tahrir Square. "If we reach that point, then Tunis may not have to insist on [using] a certain language in relation to reform and the Saudis might show more flexibility on this front," one senior Arab diplomatic source said. Next week, Moussa is planning another tour of Arab capitals to hold further consultations. His objective is to secure the venue and the agenda of the summit. He also wants to have the summit convene in May before the NATO and G8 meetings that are set to discuss the future of the Middle East from a Western perspective. "May is the target date, and the earlier the better," Moussa said. If the summit fails to convene at all the protocol stipulating annual convocation -- annexed to the Arab League Charter in 2000 -- would be broken for the first time. Should this happen, the secretary-general of the Arab League will be in a position to call for an extraordinary summit.
